Old WV Poet

Blood Family & Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Oldwvpoet — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:32:30 +0000

What a morning! A youth that I am discipling stayed over and I took her to school this morning. She had requested Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes, recipe included, for breakfast. Usually not a problem, except I spent a little to much time enjoying my morning coffee. Next thing I know I am making breakfast, packing lunches and getting ready for work all in a very small window of time. Its been a while since I have felt the stress of the cooking line! I got everyone fed, in spite of burning two pancakes, lunches packed and to school or work on time!

I am not sure why God waited till I was nearly fifty to bless me with a family but I am grateful nonetheless. Over the years there has been many families that have allowed me to be a part of their youths and children’s lives. It takes a special parent to allow that I am truly amazed at how God has open that door for us. So Kevin, Sandra, Betty, Misty, Caroline and many others thank you for being open to God and allowing us into your family. Of course the latest thing God has done is allow some young people to move in with us. That has been a great blessing also.

We often call ourselves a family within the church but we don’t really act like one. The first century church certainly did. Growing up in the Appalachian Mountains I often heard the expression, “Blood is thicker than water.” That mentality that family was stronger than anything else. My old man said more than once, “We can survive anything as a family.” As I quickly approach old age I am embracing the importance of blood family. A family based in the blood of Christ is much stronger than the family based on birth.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup bananas, mashed ( 2 small)
1 eggs, lighty beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips, divided
Directions
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl.
After mixing well stir in milk, banana, egg and vanilla.
Fold in 1/4 cup chocolate chips.
Heat a griddle, sprayed with oil on medium heat. Pour batter onto griddle making 3 inch rounds.
Cook about two minutes or until tops are bubbly. Flip pancake and cook for another minute or until golden.

Don’t Tell Me I’m To Old

Oldwvpoet — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:09:21 +0000

I have struggled over the years by trying to run Mission Raleigh from an office. I am nearly fifty and I should be at that place in my life when I would have a big chair job. I am constantly advised that I am “to old” to keep working in the field. That I can’t relate to youth or children now. I have just finished up another attempt to run an outward focused mission from a chushy chair. I have been miserable. It is simple I am happy when I am in God’s will. And I plan on returning to the center of that Will.

I am nearly fifty but it is figured that Paul was in or near his early sixites when he died (http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1995/issue47/4702.html). If Paul was still engaged in Missionary Journeys or suffering in prision in his sixites then I can manage to push on in my fifites. I seriously hope that I am still doing the same in my eighties. I don’t want it to make sense because only God desereves glory. I am going to be hitting it hard these coming days. This will be my fourteenth summer coming up. I promise you that I will work my college and youth interns into the ground.

By the grace of God we will open two or three mission points this summer. We could open eight if we had the people to go. Notice I did not say money! God has and will provide for His will to be done. I just don’t have time for it.. Want to know by five year plan then check out http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A25-34&version=NIV

Lessons Learned Post Gastric By-pass Surgery

Oldwvpoet — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:49:16 +0000

I spent much of my adult life enslaved to food. Food was central to my life. I ate my stress, I ate as a form of rejoicing, I ate my depression, I basically ate for every emotion I had. I expressed my love through food. It is easy to say that food was the most central part of my life. Food had so much control of my life I had to take extreme measures to overcome that sin that so easily besets me. Now don’t misunderstand me food in in itself is not a sin. It is a gift from God and it is fine to enjoy food. But God did not intend for food to be our comforter, counselor, or crutch. Jesus and Jesus alone is to feel that role.

As I have begun this new journey in life I have embraced my old African friend Aesop (I’ll explain why I call him my african friend in another post) moral: “A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.”
Meditate on that.

Speaking of crust here is a recipe for my Olive Oil Bread

Olive Oil Bread
A quick, easy bread that works well with Italian foods and pastas.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS:
1.
In a large bowl mix together the warm water (110 degrees), yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Stir in 2 cups of the flour in order to make a soft ball. Knead in additional flour so that dough is soft and not sticky. Place kneaded dough in a medium size greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size.
2.
Punch down dough, and form into ball or loaf shape. Place onto a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

Poetry

Oldwvpoet — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:13:54 +0000

My first love in the Arts will always be poetry. Which is sad since I can’t remember the last time I actually worked on a poem. I wrote this one yesterday while grabbing a quick bite with my intern on the way to a Mission Point.
Don’t Judge me! Lol its a first draft but I will take any suggestions you may have.

Five Points

Sidewalk cafee in the art district
on a spring day with clouds in a blue sky.
Busy street lined with ivy covered trees
and houses begging to be sketched.

As much as she hates cliches
I thought she may show.

Moleskines on every table
the faces of expectant artist & writers.
Intellectual discussions held
over the sounds of pouring beer.

Surely this would
be her scene.

BBQ Chicken served on
an artistian crust.
The sounds and smells
of quality coffee from next door.

You’d think would
seduce her from hiding.

They say that Hemingway would
use whiskey to motivate her.
I guess we can agree
that didn’t really end very well.

I just need to find
A reliable Muse.

Unanswered Questions on a Frantic Friday

Oldwvpoet — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:31:11 +0000

I love writing. I’ve always hope that this blog would afford me an outlet for my writing but somehow I never seem to follow through. I never seem to afford the time to write. I am hoping to start using my mornings to this end. I can really waste a morning. Typically I am up about 2 hours before anyonelse or before I need to be anywhere. My typical morning is waking up and letting the dog out, making coffee, then watching something on TV that I have DVR’d. I need to keep the TV off and use that time for writing. Enough excuses lets get on to my blog post for the day.

Frantic Fridays is the day allow myself to write about anything I desire. Today I want to explore how you balance a servent life with trying to keep some time for yourself. I’ve spent most of my life mainly concerned about me. What I wanted and how to achieve it was what my life was about. I don’t think I was like obnixious about it. I was just pursing the American Dream like everyone around me. Then Jesus found me. That pretty much changed everything. I really understood the concept of giving my life to Jesus and as with everything in my life I did it with my whole self. Don’t get me wrong I have no regrets to my pursuit of being a servant. I am much happier helping other people than I ever was helping myself. Yet I feel that I’m being led to explore some other avenues of ministry right now. I by no way feel like I am being called away from Urban Missions but some additonal ministries to what I am doing. Writing is one of those additional ministries. The only problem is feel guilty writing becuase I recieve such enjoyment and if just doesn’t feel like work to me. I guess what I am struggling with right now is even if I didn’t feel like writing was a ministry for me but something that I just wanted to do for myself. Which is true I do have some ministry writing I want to do but I want to work on my cookbook, poetry, essays and many other projects that aren’t “ministry” driven, just somethings I want to write becuase I enjoy them. So how do you balance being a servant with having time for yourself.

So this will be representive of many of my blog post. My old pal Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “When we arrive at the question, the answer is always near.” So I am getting us in proximity of the answer feel free to comment or help us find it from here.

Thinking Outside the Box

Oldwvpoet — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:58:51 +0000

We try to live our lives in little boxes. We have the family box, work or school box, fun box and then the smallest box of all our church box. We are like schizophrenic with a different personality matching each box. Guys our Christianity should shine through in every aspect of our lives. I am so tired of the Christian box. I am going to be a Christian Counselor, Christian Musician, Christan Artist, Christian Teacher, and the list goes on! Well I have reinvented my little blog and I have news for you its not a Christian Blog! It is a blog written by a Christian! My Christianity shapes everything about me but there is more to me than being a Missionary. I have patterned my little corner of cyber-space to reflect all my passions including cooking, art, thinking, missions, Christ and my randomness. I hope that my love for Christ shines through it but not every post will be about Christ.

You see being Missional is not about taking the latest program or memorizing the latest evangelism tract. It is about you being the you that God created you to be and people seeing Christ through you. I’ll let you in on a little secret, keep this just between us, but no one is impressed by you saying your a Christian. What catches people attention is you living a a consistent life that reflects you being a Christian. That way if you talk about Christ they say, “Hmm maybe I should listen.”
Be the real deal!

There is my first post on my Re-invented blog. I hope that you will tune in from time to time and be a part of my rants. I am going to strive to be faithful in my writing. This is my first Missional Monday entry. Soon to follow is: Transparent Tuesdays, Whisking Wednesday, Theoretical Thursdays, Frantic Fridays, Aesthetic Saturdays and Sermon Note Sundays. Feel free to comment on any post.

Blessings

Oldwvpoet — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:19:46 +0000

So here I sit at 3 am writing on my blog. My sleep schedule is so out of whack from the hospital.

I sit contemplating how we carelessly talk about God’s blessings. The funny thing, well not really that funny, is how we always equate Being blessed by God with prosperity and ease. I hear American Christians say we are blessed to live in this land where we are free to worship. Which implies Christians in India, China or other persecuted lands are not blessed. Which is a faulty conclusion since the Church is growing there better than Here. Did Paul not state in Athens:

26 From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live, 27 so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us Acts 17: 26 & 27 (HCB)

It seems that prosperity gospel has influenced are theology. Let us recall God’s real blessing is salvation not economic multiplication.

Hospital Haiku 4

Oldwvpoet — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:06:07 +0000

Horizontal blind and glass
Self appointed jailers yet
my mind is roaming free

Hospital Haiku 3

Oldwvpoet — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:27:27 +0000

My nomadic soul
Tires of a Horizon view
horizontally altered

Hospital Haiku 2

Oldwvpoet — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:30:21 +0000

Hawk glides on windy blue skies
altered by dusty blinds
Alone I rest coveting eyes